No abortion even if mother's life is at risk, says pope

Pope Benedict XVI said in a speech at Angola's presidential palace that the church had not changed its position on abortion, saying the practise should not be promoted as a type of "maternal healthcare."

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday reiterated the church's ban on abortion, even to save a mother's life, in a nationally televised speech on the first day of his visit to Angola.

"How disconcerting the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health," the pope said in a speech at Angola's presidential palace.

"How bitter the irony of those who promote abortion as a form of 'maternal' healthcare," he said, referring to the Maputo Protocol, a part of the African Union's charter that protects women's rights.

The charter includes guarantees that women should have a right to an abortion in cases of rape, incest, or major health risks to the mother.